Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and Former Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal. File
| Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma
Within 24 hours of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) being formed and gathering million of followers online, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal made an important shift in his messaging.
The AAP supremo, whose Instagram account was filled with edited videos of his press conferences or speeches, started shooting and posting reels.
The vertical videos are simple, without much editing or writings like his previous videos, and are being made specifically for the platform. The change seems to work for him, as videos since then are mostly getting more views than the past, including one such video clocking over 55 million views – the highest ever for Mr. Kejriwal.
On the first such video posted on Instagram on May 17, a day after the CJP was formed on May 16, Mr. Kejriwal talked about distress due to NEET, “If you are in depression, share your feelings with me in the comment section or DM me. We will together try to fix the NEET. Send your suggestions and solutions too.”
This video clocked 7.8 million views on Instagram.
“His thinking seems to be ‘let me talk to people, especially Gen Z, in the form and medium which they use to communicate’,” a senior AAP leader said, when asked about the change.
But the leader said that there has been no directions to others post similar videos. “Party line to everyone is generally to talk about a particular issue, but not which medium or how to do it. Many leaders are still using their old style and horizontal videos,” the senior leader said.
“Posting videos on Instagram let him talk to people from anywhere and anytime and is not limited by the restriction of press conferences,” another leader said.
Though other senior leaders such as Sanjay Singh and Manish Sisodia have posted some videos in similar formats as the party chief, none seems to have cracked the code as much as Mr. Kejriwal.
Casual and informal
On May 20, Mr. Kejriwal posted another video which starts with him saying “Hello Bacchon”, in a typical influencer style.
The video seemed like it was shot by Mr. Kejriwal on his phone and after the introduction, he turned the phone to show AAP leader and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who announced that bus travel will be free for students on the NEET re-examination.
Mr. Kejriwal then turned the phone back to him and asked students to work hard and stay hopeful.
Since, then the AAP supremo has continued to put such reels, sometimes from his car, room, or party office. With time, Mr. Kejriwal who initially seemed a little uncomfortable, appears to be more in control.
Many of these videos continue to be crude and maintain the informal tone.
Just a few hours before a scheduled march to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence, on August 5, Mr. Kejriwal posted a video, seemingly shot again by him on his phone, in which he says that they are going to march to the PM’s residence.
He then turns the phone around the room to show about six other leaders who say a line or two each about the protest, before turning the phone back to him and ending the video with “jai hind”.
Out of the 12 most viewed videos on his Instagram, seven have been shot in this format and all of them since May 17.
Published – August 09, 2026 05:16 pm IST
